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By Danielle Kwateng-Clark · Updated December 6, 2020

Collecting salary numbers from the past year, Forbes has released the top ten paid actresses on television— and it’s pretty diverse. 

Composed of two Shondaland talents, Kerry Washington nabbed the No. 7 spot for her role on ABC’s Scandal, which reportedly brought in $11 million for her over the past year. Grey’s Anatomy lead Ellen Pompeo brought in $13 million for her Shonda Rhimes show, placing her at No. 3. 

Other actresses of color on the list include Mindy Kaling (No. 3 at $13 million), Priyanka Chopra (No. 8 at $10 million) and Sofia Vergara who blew the women and men out of the water in the No.1 place with a whopping $41.5 million for her portrayal of Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on ABC’s Modern Family.

“I just want to say that sometimes, we have been told a false narrative as women, often, that there is only room for one of us in the room,” Washington recently said at the 6th Annual Women Making History Award. She has often credited Rhimes for lifting the standard of what she expects and deserves as a Hollywood actress. 

“And it’s part of how they keep us small. Part of the culture of Shondaland is to shatter that illusion and I learned that on day one when I met Shonda [Rhimes]. And that culture has extended to all of the women in that land. We don’t hold back from our sisters.”

TOPICS:  Kerry Washington
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